Life is a Hurricane
by Forscythe
Summary: FE13 Self Insert. One minute everything's okay, the next I find myself falling through the air staring up at a fiery sky. Why me? And why is there an old man telling me I'm his 'champion'. I'm not competent enough to be anyone's champion. Abandoned
1. Chapter 1

Since I don't have enough on my fanfiction plate, here have this self-insert. It's good? Maybe.

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Chapter I: Flames and Falling

* * *

Has anyone ever told you that "life is like a hurricane"? Well Duck Tales told me that when I was younger, and I think I've come to realize what exactly that means. To a certain extent anyways. I'm probably confusing the lot of you by now, and I think I'll shut up and just tell my story. Hopefully bandits won't interrupt or anything. I'm sick of fighting. It's all I've done the last few years. Not that bandits would stand a chance against me these days. They'd be turned to ash before they could get anywhere near me. Anyways, on with the story.

I used to hang out with an elderly man from around around the age of five to when I was seventeen. He used to teach me how to read some strange language. He said that it was a secret language he invented so we could communicate with each other. I believed him of course. What five year old wouldn't believe his best friends? I was really sad when he suddenly moved away when I was just graduating high school.

Anyways, everything went downhill right before sophmore year of college. Or uphill? I was still not sure to this day. I was home for the summer, and was relaxing in my backyard in a an old fort me and my buddies had contstructed back when we were ten. Funny thing about these huge bushes that were in my backyard. They were actually quite hollow inside, and me and my friends had actually hollowed them out more and brought chairs out there. I still used it to this day, and it was a nice place to escape it all.

I sighed deeply and resisted the urge to throw my 3DS. Grima on Lunatic+ was absurdly tanky with Pavis+. It didn't help that I was trying for a no deaths run on classic.

"Whoever can do this has some sort of tatical genius." I grumbled tiredly and shut it down, "Maybe Robin'll figure it out himself if I leave it off long enough."

The tree shook in the wind as if to tell me that: no I was completely wrong. I shook my head and leaned back in my chair

"Maybe I'll just take a nap for a little while."

Unfortunately, the ground decided to not support my chair on two legs and I felt myself falling backward. My limbs flailed in midair and I braced for impact.

"_This is gonna hurt."_ I cringed and closed my eyes.

Nothing. I was still falling, but oddly enough I hadn't hit the ground. I looked over my shoulder curiously and noticed that I was...falling through the sky. Oh good was my first reaction, I didn't hit the ground. Wait what!? was my second.

My limbs began flailing even more as I screamed in terror. The wind rushed by my face and I felt my life flash before my eyes. Too cliche? Too bad.

Wump.

A satchel smacked me full in the face causing me to spin completely out of control. I grasped wildly and managed to grab the strap before it could get away from me. At the time I was almost certain I could see a real life Anna winking at me through the clouds before I crashed into the ocean with a massive splash. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but it was no use. The last thing I saw was fire raining down from the sky.

"What the hell..."

* * *

I felt warm. That was odd. I had thought I had landed in the ocean. I grumbled tiredly and leaned up into a sitting position. A sudden intense pain in my chest caused me to wince and lay back down in a hurry. Maybe sitting up hadn't been the best idea.

"You're up?" a very slimly built boy walked over into my line of sight, "I didn't expect you to be awake for a few more hours at least. Especially with the state you were in when I found you."

My heart thudded in my pained chest. The boy was wearing a very familiar mask. I resisted the urge to facepalm and tried to stay calm, "Thanks for taking care of me...?"

"Marth." the man I now knew was a woman went back to tending her fire, "Do you want something to eat?"

"Y-yeah." I took the bowl that she offered and forced myself to sit up again. It was painful, but I managed. It was only temporary thankfully. I drug myself backwards and leaned up against a tree. I looked down at the bloody bandages on my chest and sweatdropped.

"_Surely the fall couldn't have done this." _I rubbed the area gently, not entirely believing what I was seeing, "Er Marth?"

"Yes.?" the woman looked up from her bowl of soup, "What is it?"

"How'd I get so torn up?" I began inspecting the rest of my body, finding a simliar bandage wrapped tightly around my head, "I don't remember much past passing out in the ocean."

"Risen got to you before I could stop them." she sounded almost ashamed, "One had already stabbed you in multiple places before I killed them. I'm just surprised you survived."

"Ah." I winced, glad that I didn't remember that, "Thanks for saving me again."

The girl mumbled something about 'don't mention it' before chucking the satchel over to me that had smacked me in the head.

"Here. I found this next to you. The Risen didn't do anything to it, so you should find everything inside intact. And don't worry. I didn't look inside."

I looked curiously inside. The contents were just as much a mystery to me as they were to her. I gently pulled out a red book with wide eyes. Well if I was in Fire Emblem this would have to be a magic tome? I opened the book and found to my surprise I could read every bit of it. It was just like...

"It was just like the language the old man taught me when I was younger..." I mumbled to myself absentmindedly, drawing weird looks from Lucina. I tried to ignore her stare and went back to rummaging around in the bag. I found what I guessed were Vulneraries as well a small bag of coins. I mentally sweatdropped at the hastily written note enclosed just below a small knife.

'Sorry I had to drop you in like that! The time was getting close and you just wouldn't go out of the fort. Hopefully you came out alive? Remember no resets in real life~' -Anna

I scrunched the note up and shoved it deep in the satchel. It would do no good if someone were to find it. I decided immediately to burn it in the fire as soon as Lucina went to sleep. To burn the time, no pun intended (okay maybe pun intended), I opened the tome back up again and began studying it. It would do me no good if the only weapon I had other than that small knife was completely useless to me.

"A mage huh." I heard Lucina speaking to me, "Does that make you Ricken's or Miriel's son?"

"Huh?" I stared blankly at her wondering what on earth she was talking about.

"Definitely Ricken's" She giggled and went back to staring at the fire, "Don't worry. I already saw my father. We arrived early enough."

Oh. Well this could be good or bad. She thought I was one of the children sent through time to stop Grima. I was leaning more towards it being a bad thing. Whoever Ricken ended up marrying could really screw me if I said that I was his son.

"I'm not anyone's son Marth." I decided to be straight with the girl. Honesty was the best policy after all, "You've got me mistaken for someone else."

Suddenly the girl took on the look of a cornered animal. She stood to her feet and slowly backed away, holding the Parralel Falchion in front of her. So maybe honesty hadn't been the best policy. I hoped I was going to be able to play peacemaker. A violent Lucina would probably end with me being very very dead.

"I'm not a servant to Grima if that's what you're so worried about." I held up my hands peacefully after tossing my tome away from me, "I'm not gonna do anything. In fact, if you let me leave right now, I can forget we ever met."

To prove my point, I pulled myself to my feet with a groan of pain. I hobbled over to my discarded tome and shoved it back in my satchel. I sighed and looked over at Lucina who was still watching me warily. I waved at her cheerfully and headed south. I'd hit something eventually

"Thanks for taking care of me sir!"

I hobbled off into the night, hoping no wolves wanted me for a late night snack. I breathed a sigh of relief after I was some distance away from Lucina. Thank goodness she didn't decide to kill me.

* * *

Morning came with me wearily walking along a crystal clear lake. Had I not been wearing bandages, I would've jumped in in an instant. It looked so nice and cool.

"Hail Traveler!" I heard a deep, commanding voice from behind, and turned to face it, "Do you know anything about the monsters spreading across the lands?"

"_Hello Frederick the Wary." _I mentally groaned and tried to not to look exasperated. From the amused grin on Chrom's younger siser's face I did not suceed. I certainly didn't expect to run into them this fast. It made sense though. I had been thrown right into the first Risen attack.

"Do I look like I do? I would've come out a lot less unscathed." I grumbled and pointed to the numerous bandages wrapped on my body, "I'm just trying to hobble to the nearest village to get a room at in an inn and take a nap."

"Still though I'd like some identification." the man rode up next to me on his horse, causing the dirt road to puff up dust everywhere. I coughed, my mouth already dry enough from barely any water aside from the few sips from the lake.

"You don't have to interrogate everyone Frederick." Chrom walked up beside his second in command with a barely concealed grin on his face.

"But Milord!" Frederick began, but Chrom hushed him before speaking to me directly.

"You look like you've been through hell." Chrom looked me up and down, "What's your name stranger?"

Apparently Chrom was as friendly in real life as he was in-game. I saw no reason not to, so I immediately responded, "Brendan. I'm a traveling mage that happened to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The monsters almost killed me Milord."

Chrom sighed and put a hand on his temple, "Please none of the Milord nonsense. I get enough of that from Frederick."

"I'm afraid not Milord." I replied cheerfully, hoping I wasn't completely ruining my chances of joining up, "It would be disrespectful to refer to Milord by anything less than Milord."

"A joker huh." Chrom looked me up and down, "You know what? If you managed to survive that attack so I see no reason not to ask. Would you like to join the Shepherds?"

"_Wait what!? Oh now I can see why Frederick gets so frustrated. Does Chrom ask every man or woman he sees as even somewhat capable to join him?"_ I stood there flabbergasted as Frederick and Chrom bickered good-naturedly about me joining. Well maybe Frederick not so much. Frederick was probably serious about the argument.

"You know they did the same thing when Chrom asked me to join." a male sounded from my right. I looked over to see the default avatar smiling bemusedly, "Robin. I'm the company's new tactician."

I shook the offered hand with a slight frown. The reality of the self-insertation was finally starting to set in now that I saw all these familiar faces. I wondered briefly whose idea of a funny joke this was.

"**Oh that'd be my employer!**_"_ a cheerful female voice sounded off in my head, "**It's not really a joke though! I'd never do that sweetie.**"

"_Anna?" _I asked, "_Well if not a cruel joke then what?_"

"**Oh. Right.**" the voice giggled, **"Well the man I work for needs you for something. He'll be ****visiting you soon, so don't be surprised if an old man shows up in your dreams.**"

"_R-right."_ I tried not to show too many emotions on my face so as to not freak out anyone on the outside. Luckily Robin and Lissa were busy trying to calm down Frederick, "_You won't be stuck in my head permanently right?"_

**"Nah." **she responded, "**I'm just projecting thoughts for a little bit to explain stuffs to you. I can't actually see your innermost secrets or else anything worth selling."**

"_Ah."_ I sighed deeply, "_I can go home when I get this done right?"_

"**Well if you want to."** the voice sounded disappointed, "**But if you like it here you're welcome to stay.**"

A wave of relief swept over me. At least I would be allowed a choice. I wasn't stuck here by any stretch of the imagination. In the corner of my eye, I could see Frederick still grumbling, but the worst of it seemed to be over. Chrom was on his way back over to me.

"So how about it." Chrom stuck out his hand with a friendly smile on his face, "Will you join the Shepherds?"

"Well this is completely out of the blue, but sure why not? I'd be honored. I was looking for some kind of work anyways." I took the hand and shook it firmly, '_Thank you BS skills. First things first when I arrive. GET MAGIC LESSONS FROM RICKEN. This is a necessity. Ricken's nice right? He should do it no questions asked, especially since he's like thirteen or something. I could tell him I'll put a good word in for him with Chrom. Besides I kind of want to be friends with him. I can relate a little to some of what he's going through. I guess it also wouldn't hurt to get some self-defense training from someone. Maybe I can bribe Stahl with food. Alright that's a plan.'_

I fell in beside Robin and tried to talk to the other newbie. Newbies have to stick together after all. Plus he seemed like a nice guy. Unfortunately, Virion chose that time to show up and wrap an arm around my shoulder. He than began talking to me in that regal manner of his.

"Hello good sir! My name is Virion! You may have heard of me before? I am quite the archer after all!"

"_Don't get me wrong, I like Virion in the game... but I swear if he doesn't get his hands off me._" My eye twitched dangerously as Virion kept going on and on about being the archest of archers, and I noticed Robin make a little distance between me and Virion. Probably due to the fire tome just poking out of my bag. I spoke up in a sing-song voice. "Virion?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't stop touching me and going on about your archer skills I'm going to roast the ruffles right off your shirt."

"R-right." Virion hurriedly stepped away from me and rather loudly whispered to Sully who looked none to pleased to have Virion passed off to her, "Did Sir Chrom have to hire the slightly mental mage?"

I ignored him. If he thought I was mental then maybe I wouldn't have to hear him preaching his tales of heroism to me the rest of the way home.

Sully laughed in response, "I don't mind how he acts as long as he covers my ass in battle."

I made a mental note to try to be nice to Sully if we ever had to work together. She seemed to be fairly friendly so far. Virion...I supposed he was what I expected. He was hilarious in the game, but I should have known he would grind on my nerves in real life. I knew that he would probably still be funny if he was pissing someone else off. Which, speaking of nerves, I wished dearly that Frederick would stop watching me so vigilantly. It was unnerving me.

"How long till he stops glaring at me?" I shuffled over next to Robin and whispered into his ear, "It's starting to make me feel like a piece of meat."

Robin grinned ruefully, "Probably not until we get another member or until we get off the road. He switched from me to Virion when he joined. You'll get somewhat used to it.

"Hopefully." I replied with an exaggerated sigh that made Robin chuckle softly. Well at least Robin seemed easy to get along with.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful. By mostly, I mean that bandits tried to ambush us on the way to the capital. They startled me so much that I nearly set the forest on fire with hasty magic. It was my fault for trying to cast in the first place. I had never even casted magic before, and doing it in a hurry like that probably made me look incompetent as hell. My show did however make the bandits surrender and plead for their lives (heh heh!) After we tied them up and gave them to some locals, I assured Chrom that I was a much better mage when I wasn't startled and hurt.

This was a lie of course.

Thankfully Chrom took it. I did see Robin staring at me with one raised eyebrow. Clearly he didn't believe me like his commander did. Well I was going to show him... once Ricken gave me lessons.

Aside from that though, the rest of the trip was just me and the rest of the Shepherds making small talk. We soon arrived at what I'd probably be calling home for quite some time. I assumed whatever employer that Anna had wanted me to stay the entire game.

'_Three years huh?' _I stared up at the mansion the Shepherds called home, '_I'll be old enough to drink when I get home if I survive_

Chrom offered to introduce us to the rest of the crew, as well as the exalt, but I politely declined. I was tired and I would be able to do that the next day. Chrom nodded, saying he understood and directed me to take any unmarked room.

Since the entire mansion was the Shepherd's base, everyone had their own room. Each room had a nameplate on it if it was occupied. After all, at the beginning of the game there weren't even that many Shepherds. If my count was right, the army at least tripled by the end of the game, especially with all the children. I swore then and there that if one showed up with my features, I was going to kill my future self for having sex with a character from a video game world. I just needed to leave once I got done with whatever I needed to do.

With those thoughts in mind, I quickly fell asleep. The bed was nice and soft, probably since it was originally a noble's, and I was tired.

My dreams were not quite as peaceful as I would have liked.

I woke up in a weird world. It was all dark, and the ground had fog coming up from it. It was a very stereotypical dreamscape to be honest. I didn't have too long to contemplate my surroundings though, because an old man suddenly appeared in front of me

"Hello." my jaw dropped at the very familiar old man in front of me, "I've been waiting for you Brendan."

"You... you're..." I stumbled over my words, pointing a shaking finger at the old man

"Yes. I am the old man that you used to hang out with constantly. It's good to see you again.

"Wow." I sat down in the weird foggy area of my dreamscape. '_So old Mr. Davis is the man that Anna works for. Who would've thought.'_

"Yes wow." the old man began pacing, "Now I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you here?"

"Well yeah, of course!" I nodded my head vigourously, "Though to tell the truth I'm a bit pissed about you doing that. I can save that for later though. I'd rather hear your side before I start yelling."

"You are here to be my champion."

* * *

I briefly toyed with the idea of him traveling with Lucina, but then I thought to myself how many trust issues she likely has. I didn't think I could really write it believably.

-Forscythe


	2. Chapter 2

Anyways, I'm having stupid fun writing this, so here we are with an update. My new problem is solely writing this and having issues tearing myself away to finish up the conclusion of an arc in one of my other fanfictions T_T

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Chapter II: Reveals and Training

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"What." I replied dryly, "Your 'champion'? Look, I don't know if you've watched me the last few years, but about the only things I'm half decent at are video games and hockey."

The man held up a hand over my mouth, drowning out the rest of my rant into a mumble no one would've been able to understand.

"Just be quiet and hear me out will you?" the man kept his hand over my mouth, ignoring my muffled, indignant screams of protest, "Now... where to begin. I suppose I should start at the source of this entire affair. Naga and Grima. This world's two gods. This game I'm being forced to oversee is one of their making."

By this time I had quieted down, and the old man had removed his hand from my mouth.

"Game?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes." the man nodded, "Grima's champion versus Naga's champion. In a quest to either change history so Grima wins, or to keep history close enough to the original so that Chrom and Robin are still victorious."

"Which one am I?" I asked with a small bit of fear. I refused to be the one to ruin this world over a stupid game gods wanted to play.

"You'll be glad to hear this. You're Naga's champion."

"Well that's a relief... but still. I'm not any kind of champion material!" I flopped to the ground and looked up at the dark sky of the dream world, "All I'm going to end up doing is lighting one of the Shepherds on fire with magic."

"Hmmm... I wonder." the old man rubbed his chin, "If it makes you feel any better, the other champion is a human from Earth just like you."

"Look buddy." I snapped, "I'm an average guy except for my height. I've got flat, boring brown hair, brown eyes, and I'm in average shape. Unless my opponent is the same as me, I've got no chance in hell. In fact, send me home right now! Find someone else to do this for you."

"If I were to send you home right now, Grima's victory is assured. No other champion would be chosen in your place."

"Right." I held my head in my hands, "Well... my conscience isn't going to allow that. Even if the people here aren't exactly real, I can't just abandon them to effectively die."

"Oh and one last thing. This place is very real. The worlds that exist in the universe are endless after all."

And with that, the old man was gone. Something about him reminded me of someone besides the old man I used to play with. I shrugged it off, and drifted uncomfortably back off to sleep in the dreamscape.

* * *

Morning came with a splash of cold water on my face. I opened my eyes to see a somewhat familiar face grinning down at me.

Oh god.

"So did the Vaike wake you?" he grinned even wider, "Teach figured that water would be the easiest AND the funniest."

_'You are dead.'_ I grabbed the tome on my bedside table and jumped out of bed, fully prepared to toast his stupid grin off his face. Unfortunately I still had all those wonderful stab wounds in my body. My body remembered all of them when I suddenly moved, and reminded me of the fact. I fell to the ground, moaning in pain. Something akin to concern passed over Vaike's face, before he put his usual grin back on his face.

"Hold on little buddy, the Vaike will go and grab Maribelle or Lissa to fix you right up!"

And with that, the warrior took off running out of my room. I groaned, and began dragging myself back towards the bed. With great effort I pulled myself back onto the bed, and laid there panting. My body was pulsing with an unpleasant dull pain, and I deeply regretted throwing myself out of bed in such a hurry. In hindsight, I probably should've had Lissa heal me yesterday.

_'I should really think things through..._' I groaned and rolled onto my back

"Vaiiiiiikkkeeee let go of me!" I heard Lissa's screaming down the hall, "It's not like he's dieing or anything! You don't have to carry me like a sack of potatoes!"

I chuckled at the sight that appeared in my doorway, despite the pain it caused me. Who wouldn't laugh at a small blonde haired girl thumping her hands on a massive man's back. The scene was made even better by her puffed out cheeks.

"Oh right." Lissa hopped down from Vaike's shoulder, giving the big man one last glare, "I meant to check on you yesterday, but you disappeared so fast!"

"Sorry. I was really tired, and I didn't think about it either." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

"Boys." Lissa huffed and pulled out her staff. She did a quick chant, and like magic all the pain went away in the bright light that surrounded me. Earth medicine eat your heart out.

"Thanks Lissa." I stretched my arms, completely amazed at how thorough the healing actually was. I didn't hurt anywhere. I began pulling off my bandages, revealing almost perfect white skin underneath. There was only a little small scaring in some places, presumably since Lissa wasn't able to heal it right away.

"You're welcome." Lissa smiled brightly, "At least you have some manners. Unlike some people."

She glared up at Vaike. The man just laughed and patted her on the back, before turning to me with a grin I did not like.

"Alright new guy! Time to tell you what the Vaike wanted when he woke you up! The Vaike wants you to have a one on one battle with him to make sure you're up to snuff!"

I gulped, "You sure that's a good idea? I'm a magic user, and I don't want to fry you in a duel."

"Awww you are?" Vaike slumped in disappointment, "Teach coulda sworn you were a warrior of some kind with how you look. Teach couldn't imagine a guy like you using magic."

It wasn't an unreasonable thing for Vaike to assume. I was 6' 4" tall, and pretty broadly built. I always played a mage in video games though, and magic was just something I gravitated towards. It was probably the reason the old man gave me a tome instead of a sword. I wasn't complaining. If I was going to have to kill humans, I'd much rather burn them than feel the resistance of their flesh when I cut through it with a sword. That particular thought made me shudder slightly.

Vaike just sort of slunk out of the room with a sad frown on his face. It was comical really. He was really in the mood for a good fight apparently.

"Part of his problem is that Chrom hasn't been around to fight with in a while." Lissa spoke up suddenly, "With Chrom's recent patrol, and now my brother being in council since he got back, Vaike hasn't had a person that can fight with him evenly. Our other fighters both ride horses, and aren't exactly suited to fight Vaike. They don't really want to either. Speaking of the other Shepherds... you wanna meet them Brendan?"

"Now's as good a time as any." I grabbed the tunic off the side table and slipped it over my head. I yanked on the breeches next and then tightened a leather belt over the tunic near the waist. I eyed the cloak left sitting at the table, sitting underneath a pair of boots and fingerless gloves. The entire ensemble was very reminiscent of an Erk cosplay I had once considered. Shaking my head, I slipped the boots, fingerless gloves, and the cloak on, ignoring the blush on Lissa's face from me basically dressing in front of her. She would survive seeing one guy in his underwear. Hopefully Chrom would never learn of me doing that. He'd probably murder me.

_'Wonder if the old man left it for me?_' I followed Lissa out the door, tome in hand, and satchel over my shoulder _'Wouldn't surprise me. I definitely prefer this mage outfit over the usual robes.'_

It turned out the Shepherds mainly trained in the basement of the mansion. It wasn't a bad place to train. While it was a bit damp, it was very cool down there. I liked it at least.

"Hey guys!" Lissa skipped in happily with me in tow, "Just wanted to introduce you all to our newest member!"

"Yo." Sully looked up for one moment from polishing her sword and gave a quick wave. She was the only one in the room we entered.

"Right you already met Sully." Lissa nodded her head and began to tap her chin, "Guess I'll just introduce you one by one instead of gathering everyone up. I know Frederick doesn't like referring to us like a family, but that's honestly what we are when it comes down to it."

_'That makes sense.'_ I nodded and followed the girl deeper into the basement, '_The Shepherds would naturally be a tight-knit group. Especially the first ones. They've lived and working together for months probably.'_

Stahl was the first one we ran into after Sully, and I knew almost immediately we'd get along. He was napping in a pile of hay when we found him, an empty plate next to him. I raised an eyebrow and looked to Lissa questioningly.

"Should we wake him up or should I just talk to him later?"

"...Later." Lissa sighed and facepalmed, "C'mon, I know Ricken and Miriel will be awake, and it would probably be a good idea if you met the other mages in the group.

"Okiedokie." I nodded.

* * *

"This is the one of the new Shepherds?" Miriel pushed her glasses further up her nose and peered up at me, "Interesting."

"Thanks? The name's Brendan." I took a step back, unnerved by the way she was looking me up and down. The look wasn't quite Frederick like. She wasn't suspicious of me or anything. Just extremely curious.

"So. How does one such as yourself become a mage?" Miriel cocked up one regal eyebrow, "I would have thought a man like you would have been encouraged by his parents to go into something more... physical."

"I guess I was interested in it when I was younger, and I didn't really know I was going to be this big when I got older," I scratched the back of my head nervously, "Is there a rule I don't know about that prevents tall guys from being mages?"

"No. I was merely curious. I've never seen one as tall as you studying the arcane arts. To be perfectly honest, I rarely see any men as big as you. Are you Feroxian?"

"Nope." I shook my head, "Ylissian born and raised."

"Curious. Are your parents as tall as you?"

'_Oh crap. Quick Quick Quick, I neeeeed an alibi. Might as well go with the most obvious one,' _I took a deep breath, "I wouldn't know. They both died when I was very young."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. An old woman in my village raised me." I answered. Luckily, or unluckily, I was pretty good at lying.

"Pity." She turned back to her work, "I would've liked to see what kind of lineage created a man as tall as you."

"R-right." If I was an anime character, I probably would've sweat-dropped.

"She does that to everyone if it makes you feel any better." I felt someone tugging on my cape, and looked down to see a young teenage boy in a floppy mage hat. He stuck his hand out with a grin, "My name's Ricken! Nice to meet you Brendan!"

"Same." I took his hand and shook it firmly, "So you're one of the Shepherds too right? I can't imagine any of the people I've seen have had children as old as you yet."

The boy grinned even wider, but then it faulted a bit, "Well I'll be a Shepherd when I get older. Chrom doesn't think I'm ready yet."

"Well if it makes you feel any better," I released his hand, "I think my new commander might be wrong in that respect."

Ricken's grin returned as bright as ever, and he began animatedly asking me questions about my magic abilities. I tried to answer to the best of my ability, knowing I had to tread carefully with someone as perceptive as Miriel within hearing distance.

"Right." Lissa interrupted our conversation, "I can tell you guys are hitting it off, so I think I'll go have a chat with Maribelle until Chrom returns. See you guys later!"

"See ya Lissa." I waved half-heartedly as Ricken dragged me to the training area for mages. Apparently I wasn't even going to have to ask for tips. Ricken was going to give them willingly and quickly.

As it turned out magic wasn't horrible to work with. It was just horrible to make it accurate and powerful at the same time. The thing I really suffered with was being accurate. Power was not my issue. I was like a highly inaccurate dark mage, but one that used fire instead of curses for no real reason. One of my attempts sent a stream of fire grazing past Ricken's hat. He was forced to take it off and stomp on it until his hat went out. I apologized profusely to say the least.

"I suppose you're self-taught aren't you." I heard Miriel sigh behind me, and I could swear I heard her muttering something about 'the weird strays that Chrom picks up'.

"More or less." I let my shoulders slump, and I turned to look at the woman "The accuracy?"

"The accuracy." Miriel nodded, "Ricken see what you can do with him. He's a hazard to the entire squad the way he is now.

"Yes ma'am" Ricken did a little salute with two fingers.

Ricken was a harsher taskmaster than I thought he would be. Maybe it came from the sense of actually being over someone for once, and not being at the bottom of the totem pole.

"No no no." Ricken shook his head, "You have to COMPRESS the magic so that it doesn't escape so easily. That way it explodes close to the target and nowhere else."

Maybe he spent too much time around Miriel.

I was only slightly better by the time a bell rang loudly. Ricken informed me that the bell was to summon all the Shepherds back to the main training hall. He said that Chrom was probably back and had an announcement to make.

'_Probably the announcement that he's heading to Regna Ferox.' _I stood between Stahl and Ricken, '_Wonder who he's taking with him. It's basically everyone but Ricken and Maribelle in the game.'_

"So you're the new guy?" I heard Stahl yawn next to me, "Sorry I was sleeping earlier, Lissa gave me a real earful from not being awake to meet you."

"Not a big deal." I shook his hand, "I don't blame you for sleeping. I try to do it as much as I can."

"Yup. I just can't help it after a big meal," Stahl rubbed his stomach with a small grin.

"Brendan." I held out a hand, which Stahl took, "Nice to meet you."

"Stahl. As long as you don't take my food we'll be all right."

I chuckled at that. Unfortunately our conversation got cut short by Chrom entering the room with a serious expression. Frederick and Robin were in tow. It looked like I was going to have to get to know Stahl later.

Sumia moved to greet him, relief obvious in her voice. Like I remembered in the game, she tripped in her haste. Or maybe that was just normal for her. She was a klutz in the game.

_'Everything else about her is pretty nice though. She reads books, is nice, and bakes delicious pies. What's not to like?' _I mused as Sumia apologized to Chrom profusely for being so clumsy, '_Whoops__ Brendan, don't be getting any ideas about Chrom's likely future wife. He'd chop off your balls. Plus you need to keep your eye on the prize. Winning this game, and then leaving this world.'_

"..Nevermind Sumia, just be more careful next time," Chrom shook his head with a wry grin on his face, "All right, on to what I called you all here for. Tomorrow we're marching to Regna Ferox."

"Regna Ferox? Is that a country or a city?" Robin inquired. It was then I noticed how tightly shut his eyes were. How did he see like that?

"It's a country of extremely talented warriors to the north." I replied, using what knowledge I had from the game, "I've been there once or twice. It'll probably be freezing this time of year.

"Yes." Chrom nodded, "Brendan is right. Their warriors are the exact reason why we're headed up there. Ylisse will need there help in the inevitable war to come with Plegia. Normally my sister would handle all of this, but she's needed more here in the capital at the moment. Since this is a mission I don't expect to be dangerous, I'm just taking volunteers along on this one. And before you ask, not you Ricken."

"Awww..." Ricken's hand that was already partly in the air drooped, "Still not old enough?"

"Still not old enough, sorry." Chrom replied with a shake of his head.

"You'll need Teach along for a show of muscle!" Vaike flexed his arm, as if the point needed to be proven. The guy was already ripped even without flexing.

"You never know when you might need a healer, so I'm coming too!" Lissa chirped.

"I'd like to go as well captain." a deep calm voice spoke from right behind me causing me to nearly piss my pants. I turned around to see Kellam, who seemed to randomly vanish right before my very eyes unless I concentrated extremely hard.

_'How does he do that.' _I shook my head and turned back to the captain, not wanting to question the mysteries of the universe.

"If it's not too much trouble," Chrom turned to me, "You sound like you at least have some knowledge of the area. I'd like you to come as well. I know you haven't had time to settle in yet, but I'd still like it if you came along. Besides, if we do get into combat I'd be able to see what you can do when you aren't startled."

'_Maybe Ricken or Miriel can give me some tips to hone my accuracy on the way there. I'll probably still aim far and away from any of the Shepherds for now though. _I'd love to captain. Snowy weather's actually my favorite."

Everything went like the game from then on out (with the exception of Stahl and Miriel voicing their own agreement to come along). Chrom and Sumia had their awkward little conversation where Sumia was scared about coming, and Chrom assuring her that he'd basically protect her (if you read between the lines, hurrah shipping!). After all that, we broke up and were ordered to pack up and be ready to leave in the morning.

_'Good. Plenty of time left to practice.' _I strapped the sleeping bag to my satchel with a piece of rope and dropped it on my bed, _'Guess I'll go find Ricken or Miriel for some last-minute tips. Oh and I should attach Vaike's axe to his hand with duct tape. It'd make all of our lives easier.'_

* * *

Decided to do review replies at the end of chapters now. Unless I ever get to the point where it'd be awkward to answer that many in chapter.

**Fellblood Morgan**: Yeah sorry about the OOC Lucina. I'll probably end up going back and having her introduce herself as Marth. Solves a whole lot of the issues right there in my opinion.

**Red Dog Krim**: Yeah it is him. Brendan hasn't quite realized it yet, but he will soon. In response to the grammar and speech issues that occasionally come up, I really need to get someone to beta for me. I really do. I'd stop missing silly things. Or rather, my beta would catch them.

**Gunlord500**: It's kind of funny that everyone's getting the Duck Tales reference. Didn't expect so many people to.


	3. Chapter 3

This is probably my personal favorite chapter so far, even if it is like 1000 words shorter than the last two. I got what I wanted to fit into it.

* * *

Chapter III: The Road to Regna Ferox

* * *

I shoved the wind tome and the thunder tome down into my satchel next to the fire tome. Apparently the Shepherds were a tad better funded in real life, since there was an entire pile of tomes in the base. I grabbed one of each, though I couldn't recall if thunder tomes had any advantage over fire. Ricken told me that I should probably use a wind tome as much as possible since they were the easiest to control. It made much more sense why a beginner mage like him had a wind tome at the beginning of the game. I made a mental note to try to grab the green tome if trouble raised its head.

I threw the satchel over my shoulder and headed down the hall, yawning the whole way. I told my body to wake up at the crack of dawn, and luckily it listened. It was a sort of special skill of mine. If I really wanted to get up at a certain time, and went to bed early enough, I could do it. My body had a really nice inner clock.

"You're up early." I turned slowly to see Frederick calmly sipping tea in full armor. I wasn't entirely sure to make of the sight. Especially the tea cup he was using. It was all china and looked very fragile.

"Yeah I suppose I am." I shrugged, "It never hurts to have plenty of time to get ready."

"Very responsible of you Brendan." the man raised an eyebrow and formed something on his face that I swore was a smile, "If only I could get all the Shepherds to follow your example. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go wake Stahl. The man still hasn't learned to wake up early."

The man set his cup down and stood to his feet, his armor clanking as he stood to his full height. It then occured to me that Frederick was about the same height as me and probably twice or three times as muscular. The man was a beast. I felt sorry for the rude awakening Stahl was about to recieve, and was very glad I had woken up early of my own volition.

"Wow." I heard Robin behind me speaking in that soft tone of his, "Frederick seems to really like you."

"Morning Robin." I turned around and waved to him, "And in response to you. I doubt it. He probably just trusts me slightly more than he did yesterday."

"Morning." Robin came over to me and yawned. His eyes were even droopier that when I first met him. I wondered how he even saw out of them when they were that tightly shut.

"Any idea when we're leaving for Regna Ferox?" I asked, hoping he would know since he was the tactician.

"Ah about that." Robin took a seat, "Change of plans directly from the captain himself."

"Eh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Roughly half of us are going to Regna Ferox, but the other half are staying her to deal with problems the militia can't take care of," Robin continued, "Villages being harrased by bandits, risen, etc. The militia is too busy with Risen to take care of it all. Once we return from Regna Ferox we'll likely join them in the effort."

'_So things aren't going to be exactly the same as the game? I should've figured that I suppose.' _I nodded, half listening, half processing what the tactician was saying, '_I guess the reasons makes sense. It sure makes my knowledge a little less useful though.'_

"Am I still leaving for Regna Ferox?" I asked the very first thing on my mind

Robin seemed to think for a moment before replying.

"I believe so. Chrom only mentioned the people he planned on leaving here."

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Sure I wanted to go up to Regna Ferox and see the place, but was I ready for the fighting up there? Besides the Risen fight and the gate fight, there was that battle we had to win for Khan Flavia.

_'Whatever. I can handle it. I just need to take life by the horns and not be a baby about this situation. Just stay back and chuck fireballs. I'll be fine.'_

I can't even begin to describe how wrong I ended up being

* * *

"RISEN!" Virion called from his perch atop the supply wagon (which was for spare weapons, horseshoes, etc.). It had been Robin's idea to shove him up there. He told us it was because of Virion's superior sight as an archer. He figured it'd let us see enemies coming. Virion of course puffed his chest out at the complement. I was surprised I didn't visibly see his head grow.

'_Right. First real battle. Grab a tome and don't commit friendly fire'_ I could see the zombie-like humans now myself. They were slowly approaching us from just down the road. I wasn't sure if they hadn't seen us yet, or if they were just taking their time. A spine-chilling scream from the one in front, followed by the entire group speeding up, confirmed the former.

"Right strategy time." Suddenly Robin was next to me, with a serious look on his face, completely unlike his usual calm and serene self "Brendan I want you up on top of the carriage. I hope you've got enough control over your magic to smash the front line before it reaches us. I'll join you as soon as I finish giving orders."

I gulped. I hoped the exact same as Robin. I jumped up on the now stationary cart and clambered onto the roof next to Virion.

_'Right.'_ I pulled out my Fire tome,_ 'Nothing to it. fire should work better than wind right? These ARE technically zombies'_

I breathed in and out and chanted the quick activation phrase at the front of the tome. The runic sphere formed around me, and a bolt of fire formed in front of my hand. I focused as hard as I could, grunting with the effort to keep the bolt from getting out of my control. With a yell, I let the ornery thing go. It spiraled somewhat out of control, but did end up impacting a Risen in the chest near the front of the line. I mentally cheered, but knew that I definitely still needed to practice. That accuracy would not fly in a pitched battle. Luckily I didn't need accuracy with a line of zombies charging. I began charging up again, but my jaw dropped as lightning balls began rapidly impacting Risen with absurd accuracy. I gaped over at Robin who was just grinning smugly. Talented bastard.

At last the remaining group of about ten or so Risen reached us. It was a brutal slaughter to be honest. Chrom, Frederick, and Stahl tore them to pieces with a charge from behind the nearby trees before the Risen even knew they were coming. Robin had turned us on the wagon into effective decoys as well as human mortars. He was a clever and talented bastard.

"Well that went well." Lissa poked her head out from the covered wagon, Sumia doing the same. "I don't even have to heal anyone!"

"Now that's tactics." Robin hopped down from the wagon and stowed his tome in a side pocket of his tactician cloak, "We're good to go Chrom. Virion say he doesn't see any more Risen nearby."

"Good." Chrom sighed, "They're everywhere aren't they?"

"It seems that way milord," Frederick replied wearily, a deep frown on his face.

"Gods." Chrom rubbed his temples, "I fear for all the villages the military and the Shepherds are unable to reach."

"It might sound harsh, but we can't be everywhere at once Chrom." I spoke up, "The faster we get Feroxian aid and get rid of the Plegians, the faster the entire country can focus on the Risen."

"Brendan's right." Chrom nodded, "Let's be on our way."

That Risen attack would not be the last one we had to endure. We were attacked five more times before we reached the Feroxian border. Completely unlike the game.

_'I hope my game knowledge will still be useful for major events.' _I sighed, drawing looks from the rest of the group, '_If not, I'm screwed. I'll have no idea of what to change, and what to keep the same. Oh God. Emmeryn. I'm going to have to let her die aren't I? And what if Grima's champion tries to save her? Am I going to have to stop him just so Plegia surrenders easily? Can I let a innocent woman die in front of me? More importantly can I stop another person trying to save her? The old man and I need to have a chat on the rules of this convoluted game.'_

"Look out Brendan!"

"Eh?"

Something slammed into me with a sickening crack. I moaned in pain from beneath the pile of angry animal flesh that was currently glaring at me.

_'Yup that's the ribs.' _I groaned, barely able to see a pair of hooves and a wing '_And just when I thought I was going to get off injury free. This would be Sumia's pegasus then? Just as clumsy as her apparently, and it can't even bake pies!'_

The irittable thing kept snapping at everyone that got close. Finally Sumia and Lissa both climbed out of the wagon, curious at the commotion. Sumia rushed over in a hurry, and I winced at what I knew was coming. The faceplant was impressive though. Never seen so much dust from someone slamming into the ground.

"Er, you all right Sumia?" Chrom looked torn between helping the poor girl up or not. Luckily she didn't need it, and quickly helped herself up. Sumia brushed her armor off and flushed, clearly embarassed at it happening yet again. With red still tinting her cheeks, Sumia slowly approached the animal, making low, comforting noises all the while. The animal watched her cautiously, but allowed her to touch it.

"Sshhhh..." Sumia gently stroked its nose, "It'll be all right dear. None of us want to hurt you."

The pegasus immediately calmed down. I understood that Sumia had a special affinity with animals, but seeing it in real life was unnerving. Unfortunately it was still laying on top of me, so my appreciation for her petting the thing that was crushing me was slowly diminishing.

"Do you think you could get your new friend to get off me?" I asked as polite as I could manage considering the circumstance, "He's very heavy and I'm pretty sure my ribs are broken."

"Oh!" Sumia flushed, "Right away! I'm so sorry."

Sumia cooed a few words into the animals ear. Then, with a great huff, it got off my chest, walked to the side, and collapsed to the ground again.

"Don't worry about it." I sighed in relief once the massive weight moved off my chest. A worried Lissa ran forward and immediately used her staff to fix the ribs. I winced at the temporary pain of them stitching back together, but it was over pretty fast, and I could breath normally again.

"Thanks Lissa."

"Don't mention it!" Lissa replied cheerfully, "Just try to be a little more aware of your surroundings alright?"

"I'll try to. I don't like having my ribs broken you know." I stood to my feet and brushed off the back of my pants.

"Ermm... Captain?" I looked over to see Sumia rocking back and forth next to the pegasus, who was now miraculously docile looking.

"Hmm?" Chrom raised an eyebrow, "What is it Sumia?"

"Oh nothing!... okay maybe something," She dragged the toe of her boot against the ground, "I'd like to nurse this pegasus back to health and catch up with you all later."

"That seems dangerous Sumia." Chrom frowned, "We can just wait here with you you know."

"Oh I wouldn't want to be a nuisance! I'll be fine captain. We'll catch up when we can."

Chrom seemed to ponder the thought for a few moments before sighing and nodding his head.

"Well if that's what you want Sumia. But please. Don't do anything reckless."

"I'll try captain." Sumia giggled and turned her attention back to her future mount.

Now that I thought about it, leaving Sumia in the wilderness where Risen could ambush her at anytime was not the brightest idea ever. Especially with the amount we encountered today. I chose not to comment as we left her behind. Strangely enough not even Robin said anything. My only thought was that they factored in Sumia being able to flee by air. Finally I decided to speak my thoughts

"Is it really safe for her?" I wondered, "We've encountered a lot of Risen so far, and a group could ambush her."

"I've chosen to trust Sumia's judgement." Chrom replied, "I trust all my Shepherds to do what they think is right. It's how it's been since I founded the group."

'_Wow.' _I fell into step next to Stahl's horse near the front of the line, '_He really trusts the Shepherds that much? Does he trust Robin and I that much as well? Oh man and I'm basically going to betray that trust in a few weeks when I let Emmeryn die. I'm already feeling like a horrible person.'_

Something wet hit my face. I looked up in the sky to see white falling everywhere.

_'Guess we're getting closer.' _I pulled my cloak closer, _'I hope it's not TOO cold in Regna Ferox.'_

* * *

Only one review this chapter and already replied via PM, as it wasn't important enough to the rest of readers to shove a response at the end of the chapter here. Oh and I really hope I don't come across as disliking Virion. I bloody love him. I just think he'd grate on my nerves in person =p Oh and for the record the world is on hard. Lunatic and up are just unrealistic. You basically have to weaken everything with OP broken Frederick to feed kills to survive for the first few missions (without losses anyways).

-Forscythe


	4. Chapter 4

Alliteration. That is all. Also I don't own Fire Emblem.

* * *

Chapter IV: Frozen Feroxian Fighting

* * *

The area around Regna Ferox was colder than I had expected. I wrapped my cloak tighter and looked over amusedly at Lissa, who was shivering in the back of the supply wagon.

"What's that gate?" I looked over to Robin, who was squinting ahead at something through the thick snow.

"The Longfort." I replied, just as Chrom opened his mouth to likely say the same, "It's the fortress that spans their entire border. They're very protective of their homeland."

"Indeed." Frederick nodded, "The Khans are quite wary of foreigners, and do not let just anyone in. Still though, a bit of good diplomacy should stay their blades."

_'Wouldn't count on it Frederick.'_ I followed the rest of the group up the hill to the gates on pin and needles, '_They attack in the game, and I doubt that's going to change. Time for crazy jump to conclusions lady. Oh and real humans I'm going to have to kill. Lovely. Better try to get used to it now I guess, before the battles get larger scale.'_

A glint caught the corner of my vision. I peered up through my snow-covered glasses and noticed archers watching us warily from the tops of the walls. Their bows were already drawn back. I felt a nervous jolt, and walked up to Chrom as nondescript as possible

"Uh Chrom?" I asked, "You see the archers up there right?"

"Yes." Chrom replied in a quiet tone, "I've informed everyone to be cautious. It could just be a precaution, but I don't want to be caught flat-footed."

"HALT! Who goes there!" a heavily armored woman appeared at the top of the main gate.

Chrom walked up closer to the main gate, and began the negotiations I knew would probably fail. I probably should've warned Chrom, but he probably wouldn't have listened anyways. Behind me I heard Stahl.

"I don't like her tone." He said worriedly, "I think she's going to attack no matter what the captain says."

"Yeah." I replied nervously, "Buckle up eh?"

"Buckle up?" Stahl cocked his head in confusion. The expression probably would have girls melting back home. I knew some girls that had a crush on the cavalier.

"Erm." I made up a quick excuse, "Figure of speech from Valm. You know the continent across the sea?"

"You been across the sea!?" Lissa practically squealed next to me, but was quickly hushed by Frederick. She pouted up at him, but obediently shut up, probably realizing that this wasn't really the time or place to be asking me about my life. I knew she'd probably pester me later though.

'_Oooooh momentary stroke of genius!' _I called out to Chrom, "Hey Chrom! Ask her if seeing the Mark of the Exalt would prove that it's you!"

Chrom nodded, and did just that. The woman got even more incensed at us 'assuming she's an idiot' and 'it could just be a tattoo or paint', and ignored that rational argument completely. Her and Chrom got back into it almost immediately.

"Right." Robin cast a furtive glance up to the woman, who was getting increasingly heated with Chrom, "I'm in agreement with Brendan and Stahl on this one. Brendan?"

"Hmm?"

"You brought a wind tome right?" Robin asked softly, "I saw one poking out of your bag."

"Er yeah." I nodded, not entirely sure where he was going with this."

"Great!" Robin nodded when a small grin, "When the time comes, and aggressions break out, those archers and spearmen are going to be a problem. We're going to use your magic ability to our advantage."

I cocked an eyebrow and nodded for him to continue.

"I want you to send up a big blast of unstable wind magic into the air above us." Robin slowly began grinning, taking some sort of pleasure at thinking about how his strategy was going to play out, "With luck, that'll deflect any incoming projectiles. I'll then pick off the archers with my own magic while you keep us safe."

"Make sense." I replied, "And you know me. Unstable magic is my specialty."

I got weird looks from the rest of the company at that. I knew at this point Robin probably understood that I wasn't the most well-trained mage in the world (if only he knew how little experience I had in reality. The poor tactician probably would have had a stroke). The rest though were probably confused at my words. Luckily Robin stole their attention from me by explaining the rest of his plan. The rest of the company was to protect Robin and I while we took out the archers and spear-men. It was simple enough.

I placed one hand on the Wind tome in my satchel and discreetly pulled it out. I felt like I was forgetting something. The soldiers cocked back their spears on top of the wall, and I chanted the activation phrase. I then noticed how far out Chrom now was and the fact that three spear-men were aimed at him.

_'Right this is when Sumia saves him.'_ I let loose an uncontrolled blast of wind into the air, '_You better show up in time. I can't protect Chrom and the rest of the company at the same time with this.'_

True to Robin's plan, which made me wonder if he could do any wrong, the projectiles scattered like leaves in the wake of my wind. They ended up clattering to the ground harmlessly a few feet away from us. Meanwhile, Robin's lightning was already ripping through the men on the walls, the few remaining taking cover. Or at least they tried to. As soon as my wind died down, Virion became freaking Legolas and starting firing arrows at an absurd speed for how accurate he was being. He wasn't kidding about being the "archest of archers". I felt incredibly inferior already compared to the rest of the Shepherds.

_'There's that inferiority complex kicking in again,' _I shook my head and readied another unstable wind spell (a Brendan speciality), '_Focus on the fight. First and foremost is Chrom all right?'_

I snuck a glance to the side and was relieved to see a pile of spears with no prince's body pinned to the ground. Instead I got to see Chrom and Sumia gently landing on her pegasus. Good to see some things went like they were supposed too. I probably would have had some words with the old man if my presence had gotten Chrom killed in a scripted event. Frederick's face showed an immense amount of relief, and he thanked Sumia so much her face began to turn red.

"Right." Robin sighed in relief, "First step's done. Are you all right Chrom?"

"Yeah." Chrom nodded, "I would've been dead meat if Sumia hadn't showed up and saved me though."

"It was nothing captain." Sumia blushed a deep run. Boy was she smitten.

"Enough small talk!" Frederick roared, practically chopping a man in half with his sword (I cringed a little at the sight, forcing down a little bit of bile that was rising in my throat), "Milord we need to get organized before we're overrun!"

"Right." Chrom shook his head and gripped Falchion in both hands, "Robin?"

"On it." Robin shoved his tome into his tactician's cloak, "I've got a plan."

Robin's plan was tied into the very same tutorial that occurred in that chapter. Pairing up. Which was how I ended up on the back of Stahl's horse behind him. I gulped nervously.

"Well to quote you." Stahl grabbed his reins in his left hand and grasped his sword with his right, "Buckle up?"

"Yeah. Buckle up." I gave a weak chuckle and wrapped my legs tighter around the horse and gripped the side of the saddle tighter with my right hand. My left hand was preoccupied with a magical tome. I would've loved having both hands grabbing the saddle.

Our job was to guard the rear while the rest of the company charged up the stairs. While I appreciated Robin's apparent confidence in Stahl and I, being a decoy made me really nervous. I hoped Stahl was as good as he ended up being in my first play through. I wondered briefly what my strength and defense stats would be if I was in-game, and how they'd benefit Stahl.

'_Quit thinking nonsense!'_ I shook my head with a bemused smile, '_You don't have stats. And even if you did, this pair up makes sense in the real world. I can cover Stahl while he keeps the warriors/cavaliers away from us. So long as I can keep a lid on my magic going everywhere.'_

"Ready?" Stahl crouched lower on his horse as a few soldiers rounded the corner.

"Ready." I gulped.

Stahl turned his horse to side, and narrowly missed us both having skewered by arrows. I strained to turn my head, as Stahl pranced his horse back and forth with practiced ease. I grabbed my wind tome tighter and said a few prayers before muttering the activation phrase. The runes flared up in front of my hand, and I felt the usual struggle as the magic attempted to break free. With a grunt, I sent a blast of wind spiraling into one of the archers. I turned my attention away from him fairly fast, but I did catch his body splitting open out of the corner of my eye. I grimaced and turned my attention to the rest of the guys, which were getting closer at an alarming rate.

"We're going to have to enter close combat." Stahl wheeled the horse around to face them, "We're getting too close to the rest of the company. Hold on tight."

We thundered towards the rest of the enemy. Luckily, my wind spell had apparently knocked out both archers, so the only people who were left were normal foot soldiers with spears. I was puzzled. Wasn't there usually a knight there? I shrugged and got ready to cast again. Stahl dodged his horse around a spear, and chopped off a soldier's head. I ducked under a spear, and swung my leg around to the other side of the horse, and took a tumble dodging another spear. I rolled painfully on the ground and slammed into a wall. With a groan, I pushed myself to my feet, and placed my back up against the wall. Two spear-men were advancing on me rapidly. I looked to where Stahl was to see him completely preoccupied with the knight, the two of them going at it back and forth.

_'I can't possibly knock both of them out at once,'_ my eyes moved rapidly back and forth between the two soldiers, '_They're too far apart. They're probably taught to do that when confronted by mages. Shit.'_

I felt my body freezing up in a panic. I was boxed in with no way out. If I had tried to cast a spell in that moment, it probably would've blown up in my face. I cringed and closed my eyes, expecting to have spears sticking into my chest at any moment. So much for preventing Grima's champion from screwing this world.

But then again, if I had died there I wouldn't be telling this story now would I?

Whump.

I felt a rush of wind blast over my body. I cracked one eye open to see Sumia smiling at me in relief. I looked down to see the ground way further away that it was supposed to be. I cringed and closed my eyes. Heights were not my forte.

"Oh I'm sorry! You don't like heights do you?" I heard Sumia cry out in worry, "I'll get you down at once!"

"Thanks." I croaked out.

Sumia landed us a few feet back from Stahl. She dropped me off and went to aid my pair up buddy. The two of them quickly finished the rest of the Feroxians and moved back to where I was. I looked down at my abnormally pale hands which were shaking with fear. Kinda like the rest of my body was. I had almost died, and would have if Sumia hadn't saved me. I could die at any time now that I was here in Ylisse. That thought terrified me. I needed to do something for the girl for saving me. To say I was grateful was an understatement.

"Are you okay." I flinched at Stahl putting his armored hand on my shoulder. I nodded in response to the question. Stahl grinned, and patted me on the back.

"Yeah. Thanks to Sumia." I smiled gratefully up at her.

"Oh it was nothing!" She turned bright red and scuffed her boot against the ground. I had a hard time resisting grabbing her and hugging her. Now was not the time to profusely thank her for saving my life. We were still in a fight. I pushed myself to my feet and shook my head violently to clear my mind.

"Right!" I remounted Stahl's horse, "We should probably catch up with the rest of the company. By the way Sumia..."

"Hmm?" She looked over at me

"Why'd you come back and end up saving me anyways?" I asked, "I'm obviously not ungrateful, but I was wondering how you ended up back here."

"Oh well..." Sumia looked down at the ground, "I sorta had a bad feeling, so I asked Chrom if I could go back to support you guys. We weren't having any trouble on the front lines, so he allowed it."

"Well I for one am grateful for your bad feeling." I replied with a grin.

Stahl chuckled, and the we left to regroup with the rest of the army. Sumia's pegasus walked along with us. Sumia apparently didn't want to risk any archers sniping her out of the sky. I didn't blame her. When I played FE: Awakening, I tried to never even deploy flying units on a map with archers. It just always ended poorly., and even if the unit didn't die, they barely did anything from me playing it so safe. Which was why I ended up reclassing most of my flying units.

Anyways, back to the story.

I dismounted from Stahl's horse, and walked up to the rest of the Shepherds, who were at the ready, but not fighting. Chrom was in talks with paranoia lady, but I was sure no one was ready to let their guard down at the time. Not that I blamed them. Finally, Chrom returned to us, and gave us the woman's response. We were to wait for the khan to arrive, and the Feroxians would no longer attack us. The group let out a collective sigh of relief, and we went to go set up camp for our extended stay.

* * *

I pitched my tent and tried to get as little snow in it as I could. It wasn't exactly easy, since tents in Ylisse were just simple canvas things, and the doors were only held shut by rope ties. We'd been relegated to part of the courtyard, not exactly the most hospitable thing to do, but at least they weren't pointing sharp objects at us anymore. I shivered a bit in the cold, my coat barely keeping my arms from falling off. I really should've packed something a little more substantial to wear. Especially since I knew it was going to be cold. Hindsight was a bitch.

"Here" Stahl appeared in front of me, a boiling pot of something carried in his hands. I was very jealous of his likely toasty armor.

"Bless you Stahl." I grabbed the travel bowl from my satchel and held it out for him to pour the steaming hot soup in. I almost didn't want to eat it because of how it was warming my hands. Almost. I began shoveling it down with glee, all the walking and cold making me hungry as hell. Stahl chuckled and wandered off to presumably feed the rest of the company. The warmth from the bowl left too soon for my liking, and I had to rub my hands together again to keep them from going completely numb. I took back instantly everything I ever said about liking the cold. At least with the amount of clothing I had on.

"Bloody snow." I took my hands out of my armpits just long enough to wipe my glasses off.

"I thought you liked cold weather?" Robin quietly asked behind me. I jumped and glared back at the guy.

"Please don't sneak up on me like that."

"Apologies." I swore that I could hear a little smugness in Robin's voice. Maybe it was my imagination. He seemed like just a real quiet, genius type to me.

"Anyways," I coughed, "I like cold weather if I'm actually somewhat dressed for it. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm wearing short sleeves and pants that barely go past my knees. If I had a coat like yours I'd be all toasty warm."

"True."

"So how long do we get to camp out here in the cold?" I rubbed my hands in my armpits, desperately wanting to dive inside my tent and get toasty warm (if it wasn't so early).

"Until the khan gets here." Robin shrugged, "Could be in one day, could be a week. The woman in charge wasn't very specific. Chrom isn't taking it very well."

"Worried about his sister?" Robin nodded in answer to my question, "He's worried Plegia will attack in our absense."

"Got it in one." Robin rubbed his nose, which was turning red in the cold, "You're smarter than you let on."

We both sat together and shivered in silence. The camp was much quieter than usual, most of us just going around our business as fast as possible. Even Virion was subdued. The cold was getting to him as well apparently. At the first sign of the sun setting, I said a hurried goodbye to Robin and dived into my tent and wrapped myself up in my blanket. I heard him chuckle softly outside at me, before he got up and I heard his footsteps slowly fading away. I continued shivering for a few more minutes, but eventually my body heat created a nice little heat bubble inside my covers. I sighed in contenment and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Relevant review response time (aka the reviews that aren't just me thanking someone for their kind words, and actually kinda matter to other readers)

**Sunswordred** – I've got tentative pairings settled on, but that being said if you want to try and make a case for a particular pairing go right ahead.

Till next time. Read and review or whatever people are saying these days.

-Forscythe


	5. Chapter 5

Oh good this chapter. I've been holding back a joke until this chapter, and I'm incredibly glad to get it out. Oh and the reason this took as long as it did... Tales of Xillia, writer's block, and work. That's pretty much it. Expect updates to either stay the same or slow down. College is about to start up. I can't say how hard my load is going to be, but it doesn't seem bad. Plus I have this sweet three hour break where I can't go home to distractions like game consoles in which I can write on my laptop. On one final note, Going to try for monthly or less updates. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully monthly will turn into every two weeks or less.

* * *

Chapter V: The Worst Situation

* * *

I won't bore everyone reading this with the details of the next few days. Know that the Shepherds basically sat around for several days and shivered our collective asses off until Khan Flavia showed up. And even then, we still had to freeze our asses off until Flavia and Chrom finished talking (It wasn't very long, but I still. I felt like my balls were about to shrink into my crotch (Exceedingly cold Brendan is vulgar Brendan). Finally though, Chrom brought back the news, Frederick and Robin in tow. Just like the game, we were to fight as Khan Flavia's champions in exchange for her promising troops once she had control of Regna Ferox. I half wondered if this was some practice from ancient Japan, since this was a damn common thing in JRPGs.

"So we're all participating?" I rubbed my hands over the small fire Robin had carefully lit with his magic. Stahl was sitting next to me, and Robin across from me. Virion was perched up on a nearby hay bale. The man really liked perching. Maybe he liked being higher up than the rest of us. I shrugged it off the first time I saw it. Everyone was so eccentric in this world. If someone was happening to wonder about Chrom, he was off a ways talking to Frederick about something. I wasn't sure where Lissa and Sumia were. Probably talking about some girl thing. Kellam... well he could have been anywhere. I had given up looking a long time ago at that point.

"Yeah." Robin nodded, taking a bite out of some deer meat, "We actually don't have enough people to participate, but Khan Flavia doesn't care. She say it doesn't matter, only that we'll have to face superior numbers."

"You say it so nonchanlantly." I replied nervously

"The opposing side doesn't have me." Robin replied cockily.

"Don't act so confident young tactician." Virion turned his gaze from the stars, "Remember that I bested you in chess only a few days ago."

"Don't remind me." Robin sighed, "I'm just trying to stay positive you know."

"Just don't let it all go to your head." Virion brushed his hair to the side.

"Like you're one to talk." I muttered under my breath, causing Stahl to snicker next to me.

Virion looked over at me suspiciously, and I had to cover my quickly growing grin with my hand. Robin stared at the both of us, but just shrugged and retreated to his tent. I frowned after him.

"The poor man is probably nervous," Virion sighed dramatically, "I probably shouldn't have brought up that chess game."

"Probably not." I replied, '_I guess it's only natural that Robin would be nervous about pitting our smaller group against a group of experienced champions. He might be a genius tactician, but he doesn't even have his own memories to remind himself what he's capable of. He's only had the few battles with the Shepherds so far. Maybe I should go talk to him? I kinda suck at giving pep talks though. Chrom'll probably handle it. Then again it might bump me up to a C level support or something...'_

I shook my head, drawing weird looks from my companions. I really needed to get my head out of my ass and think about everything there as real. I came close as hell to death the day before. One would think that would get my head on straight.

'_Aw hell. I can't think straight thinking he's having a bad time. Good god, I've been here for like a week, and we're barely friends and I already feel bad just leaving him to stew. Good to know the transit over to this world hasn't killed my need to help out my friends constantly. Like the time I picked up my drunk best friend from a street corner at three in the morning...'_

"I'm gonna go talk to him." I pushed myself to my feet, "It's no good if our tactician doesn't have his head on straight. Plus he's my friend, despite only knowing him for a week or so. Talk to you guys later."

I walked up the tent and rocked back and forth on my feet, not entirely sure how to do it. Eventually I just knocked on one of the tent poles and called out.

"You still up Robin?"

I heard a muffled yeah and took it as an invitation to crack the tent open and poke my head inside. Robin had his knees up to his chin and was looking a notebook. I noticed the notebook was covered in countless doodles. I assumed they were various strategies the tactician was running through his head.

"...look." I scratched the back of my head, "I'm not the best at this, in fact I suck at making people feel better, but..."

"Don't worry about me." Robin replied, "I'll be ready tomorrow."

"Will you be ready? You as a person? Or will Robin the tactician be ready?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped back at me

"Hell if I know." I chuckled, "I read it in a book once. The point is I'm worried about you. I know you'll be as brilliant as ever tomorrow, but I worried about your state of mind regardless."

"Why?" Robin quirked an eyebrow

I sighed and looked up at the stars. It was weird not seeing the same ones as back home.

"Because that's how I was born and raised. I get too concerned about my friend's and their well-being. I couldn't sleep one night a few months ago because I though my best friend was going to commit suicide. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I care. Even if we've been friends for only a few days. Is that weird?"

I grinned sheepishly and found the ground fairly interesting for next few moments. When Robin failed to respond, I'd figured I'd said enough and I walked away.

"Brendan!"

"Yeah?" I asked, not turning around.

"Thanks!" Robin's voice sounded much lighter and happier now.

"Heh." I felt a small grin form on my face, "You're welcome. If you ever need an ear ask. I've got plenty of experience listening to friends and their problems."

"I can tell." Robin replied, "You say you're bad at it, but I sure couldn't tell. Keep it up and I might tell Chrom to make you the army's psychologist."

"Har har." Robin chuckled at my response

"I was only half-kidding." Robin said, "I'm gonna go to sleep now. You should probably do the same."

"Right. Night." I yawned

"Night." Robin replied

I walked off to my own tent, suddenly feeling groggy as hell. Funny, since I had felt fine only moments before. I stumbled into my tent and promptly passed out without even bothering to undress. I would later learn that the grogginess was the old man wanting to talk to me, and that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

The same black space I remembered was what I woke up to. If being self aware in your dreams can be considered waking up.

"What do you want this time old man." I rubbed my eyes sleepily.

"Just giving you a warning." he stepped out of the shadows, "Your rival will be in the fight tomorrow. He's hoping to end it early by preventing Ylisse from recieving Regna Ferox's aid."

I blinked once or twice. I wasn't expecting him to show up so early, but...

"Makes sense I guess."

"Indeed."

"Is that all you called me here for."

The old man scratched his chin for a moment as if trying to decide whether he wanted to give me more information or not

"I suppose not. One more thing. A warning if you will. Not everything is black and white in this game of sabotage."

"Not everything is black and white?" I was confused to say the least

"Yes. To add to that, not everything is as you might think. This story is a onion, not a flat piece of bread."

I groaned out loud at the symbolism he was using. The least he could do was give me actual solid advice and warnings. The cryptic messages were not helping. Especially when he was laying them on so thick.

"Is that all?" I grumbled.

"You'd do well to at least consider my words." the old man sounded miffed. As far as I was concerned, he could be as miffed as he wanted. He interrupted happier dreams with his crazy analogies and warnings (though I did appreciate him telling me my opponent was going to be gunning for mine and the other Shepherd's heads tomorrow).

"Can I just go back to sleep now?"

The old man grumbled and nodded his assent. Everything faded to complete darkness again.

* * *

The arena was deadly quiet when we entered our side. Personally, I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. The same went for Stahl. When Frederick saw us side by side in the morning, he made some comment along the lines 'If I didn't know better, I would swear by Naga you were brothers.'

I readjusted my cloak and squinted through the darkness to the other side. I couldn't really see a thing unfortunately. No way to pick out an abnormal fighter when I couldn't see any of the opponents. I gripped my tome tightly, feeling my nerves getting worse by the second.

'_I just want to live. No matter what happens. I want to live.'_ I rocked back and forth as the arena suddenly lit up with torch light, '_Nothing else matters besides the shepherd's lives and my own. Just live. Find a way to stay alive.'_

We were outnumbed two to one. I couldn't have been the only one nervous. I heard a distinct gulping from Stahl that confirmed that much. I turned to Robin to ask him something, but noticed he was staring intently at something.

Or should I say someone. I chuckled evilly to myself.

"Didn't know you swung that way Robin." '_What better way to break the tension than a well-placed joke?'_ I wrapped one arm around his shoulder, "I don't think Marth's interested though."

"W-What!? Are you implying that I'm interested in Marth!?" Robin turned an interesting shade of red, "I assure you I'm quite straight. That is NOT the reason I was staring at him."

"What was the reason then?" I let Robin shake off my arm with a scowl

"I was just wondering if he truly is male." Robin replied, "His figure doesn't match his gender at all."

"So you WERE looking at his body."

That got me a smack across the back of my head and another glare

"Sorry sorry." I wasn't sorry at all, "I was actually wondering the same thing Robin."

"Thank you. It just strikes me as odd that he's so... feminine."

_'More feminine than you can imagine Robin'_ I though with amusement, '_More than you can possibly imagine.'_

My joke did what I wanted it too however (other than embarrassing Robin). The entire company was visibly less tense and anxious. I patted myself on the back for doing something good. I thought that maybe that could be my role until Henry showed up. Then again, his idea of a joke was somewhat morbid sometimes. I scratched that idea

A gong sounded throughout the arena, and a war-cry came roaring at us from the other side.

"That the signal then?" I gulped as Stahl mounted his horse

"Yep." Stahl gripped his sword tighter and unsheathed it

Suddenly Chrom was in front of our small squad, a determined look on his face. He raised the Falchion into the air and let out a cry of his own.

"For Ylisse!"

The rest of the company echoed his cry. I replied rather weakly, from both not feeling the patriotism and also feeling kind of awkward letting out a war cry of my own. Our group moved slowly forward as one. I trotted next to Robin, taking my place in the back with him and Virion. I noticed Frederick rotating back to cover our rear, leaving only Stahl and Chrom at the front. We stopped in the center. Sumia was hovering far above our heads, Lissa seated behind her. I assumed this was so Lissa could get anywhere to heal if need be.

"So what's the plan?" I went back to back with Robin and grabbed my tome out of my bag.

"We let them come to us," Robin replied calmly, "No point in pursuing and falling into a trap. Make them make the first move."

"Ah. _Similar to what I basically did on every single map in Fire Emblem once the game got hard. Chasing enemies was suicidal unless you were using Kellam or something. Geez Kellam was OP in the game. I hope that transfers over to the real world. Not that I could even see him do it."_

A great cry sounded from all sides, and the entire Feroxian army began closing in on all sides. They appeared to want to overwhelm us by force and skill. Lucina wasn't exactly a tactician it seemed. I couldn't quite remember if tactics were ever mentioned in any of her supports. My memory was a little fuzzy on some characters.

"They mean to overpower us with pure skill?" Virion scoffed next to me, "Let us show them how the Shepherds fight!"

Virion was certainly getting into it. I readjusted my cloak and rolled up my sleeves.

Honestly battles got very boring as a mage when there was a proper formation. It was a whole lot of me and Robin just taking potshots at people when we had a good chance. Nobody ever got close with the melee portion of the Shepherds protecting us. Too much bad-assery. When I did get a hit, as long as I didn't think about the human bodies I was tearing apart, everything was A-Okay. Of course, now that I mentioned how boring the fight was, something had to happen right?

Right.

A man suddenly tackled me from my blind side, and sent me hurdling out of the Shepherd's formation and into a dark corner of the room. I managed to throw him off and scrambled back quickly. Across from me was a man in a mask, now wielding a long sword with both hands.

"Who're you?" I asked confusedly, "Did I somehow manage to piss off a Feroxian in the short time I've been here?"

"Are you dense?" his muffled voice asked sarcastically.

"Er maybe?"

"I'm Grima's champion dumb-ass." the man replied

"Ah." my mouth dried up suddenly. The old man DID warn me. I probably should've been looking out for him.

"Good you understand then." He crouched, "Then you understand why I'm about to kill you you!"

"SHIT!" I ducked under his sword and slid myself backwards on the slick stone floor. Fire Emblem cut-scene physics were pretty awesome. That is, if it was a cut-scene the fight was taking place in. Either way I felt awesome. I scrambled to my feet and watched him warily. Magic would take a long time to cast, and he could probably cut me down before I would be able to even make a big enough spark to cause him minor burns or cuts. I had to try anyways. And nonlethal if possible. I NEEDED to know this man's identity.

"Impressive." he nodded, "I expected to end your life then and there."

"Sorry to disappoint. I'm a big believer in dieing of old age." I replied while pulling out my tome, eyeing my knife I had placed in my boot earlier that day.

"As sarcastic as ever..." the man shook his head in amusement

"Huh?"

"Not important." he swung at me again. This time I blocked it with my tome. They made surprisingly good shields. The only reason I though of trying it was a quick final word from Miriel. Apparently it was common practice (since they had some sort of coating that made them super durable). He grunted in exertion, but oddly enough I wasn't really being pressured at all. I assumed this was because he was an earthling like me. Probably little to no experience with a weapon. I let him through, moving my own body. He went tumbling to the ground, his own force working against him. I used his few seconds of recovery to run far away and begin chanting my wind tome's activation phrase. With a smirk of success, I fired the thing practically point blank into his arm

My spell managed to smash the sword out of his hand, tearing up the hand in the process. It hadn't been too powerful, I had hurried the spell, and I only wanted him disarmed. I had to find out who this damn idiot was. That curiosity was possibly my biggest mistake since coming to Ylisse. I took advantage of his surprise and tackled him to the ground. At first, I tried pulling off the mask. It wouldn't work. In a spurt of inspiration (and partially because I just wanted to punch him), I punched him several times in the face until the mask finally shattered.

"You!?" My entire heart stopped at the face behind the mask. I could recognize it anywhere, despite the blood all over it, "WHY!?"

My entire body went limp, and my numb fingers let his collar drop.

_'No No NO!_' My hands were shaking, and I was ignorant of the battle going around me. I only saw the man in front of me. Someone I knew way too well.

"Yes me." the man used my surprise to throw me off his body and scramble backwards, "And as your best friend, I'll give you this one chance to give up and surrender this world to Grima."

"What the hell!" I scrambled to my feet and held out my tome threateningly, "Is this some sick joke? Are you some sort of copy made to fuck with me!?"

"I'm the same old friend you know and love," He grinned, making my stomach churn.

"My old friend wouldn't be trying to help an evil god destroy a world!" I replied back heatedly

"It's just a game." he shrugged.

"A game!?" my eyes must've been like saucers, "You can't possibly believe that Tyler! Even if this is some sort of virtual world, everything is incredibly real! These people have feelings and lives. I've learned that much in the short time I've been here!"

He began suddenly laughing uproariously after I was done. I stared at him for a good minute, feeling the angry bubble in my chest growing

"You've been here what one-two weeks? Please." He scoffed, "What could you possibly know about this world?"

"I've at least given it a chance." I said angrily, "My best friend would never just take someone like Grima's word at face value."

"Looks like you don't know me as well as you thought you did." He sneered back at me.

I felt my anger slowly dissipate into something else. Something more along the lines of depression and acceptance. This was my friend now apparently. Someone I felt like I barely knew anymore. My friend was nicer. My friend wasn't evil. And I was to stop him or the world of Fire Emblem: Awakening was going to possibly end. It was a hard egg to swallow.

"...I guess not." My hands started shaking, and tears began running down my cheeks.

"Awww are you going to cry?" my tormentor didn't want to leave me alone.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I lashed out weakly with one arm. My strength had left me a long time ago.

He just chuckled in response and stepped back a few paces. I fell over on my face and didn't really have the motivation to get back on my feet. The last thing I saw was him walking away

"Pathetic."

* * *

It had been a long time since I'd curled up into a ball and cried my eyes out. After the battle (which we did end up winning. I was too busy having an emotional breakdown to notice. Stahl ended up picking me up and dragging me back to base), I'd been barely able to hold it in, and I knew the rest of the company noticed. When Chrom finally dismissed us, I rushed off, practically knocking Sumia over in the process. I eventually found what I hoped was a private corner of the castle (under a flight of stairs) and leaned up against the wall. Then the dam broke, and I found myself in my current state.

"Life is f-fucking cruel." I stared at my own reflection in the polished stone floor, "Stupid d-dragon gods must be laughing their asses off at my state. How in the h-hell am I supposed to kill my best friend?"

"Kill your best friend?" a female voice asked

My heart thudded in my chest. Who had followed me? More importantly, why had they followed me?

"It's not important." I replied stonily

"Oh but it is!" the voice rebuked me, "Friends are something you should really value!"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I'M SO TORN UP ABOUT THIS!?" my voice echoed throughout the room, "I just mean it wasn't important to you!"

"Oh." the voice replied, "Well I think it is. Everyone in the Shepherds is my friend to a certain extent. I'm just concerned about you is all."

The girl grabbed me by both of my shoulders and I felt her kneel down next to me. I stared at the ground sullenly, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Please?" She grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. It was Sumia. I probably should've expected it. Lissa would've been more aggressive. She was looking at me with doe eyes. I hated the doe eyes. They made it impossible to resist pretty girls.

"Fine." I grumbled, my tears long forgotten in my earlier anger. I'd give her a convincing abridged version. Telling her the real version would probably make her think I was crazy.

"Thank you!" Her eyes lit up and a massive smile split her face. I blushed and looked down towards the ground.

"R-right." I coughed, and began my somewhat truthful story "I guess I'll get right to it then. My best friend has apparently enlisted with the Plegian army as a spy."

Sumia gasped, "How do you know!?"

"He was out there in the arena." I replied softly, my anger now a distant memory. I just felt tired, "That and he told me when I unmasked him. Probably knew it would unsettle me enough to let him escape."

Sumia looked thoughtful for a moment. Then her eyes lit up

"Maybe you won't have to fight him? Maybe the war can end before you ever meet again."

I sighed deeply, "I very much doubt that. He out and out told me his job was to hunt down and kill the Shepherds or hinder our progress in any way."

Sumia replied with a soft 'oh' and fell silent. I didn't bother even telling her to leave. I just looked down at the ground sullenly and lost myself in my own depressive thoughts again. The old man was going to answer for that the next time I saw him. What kind of sick game pitted two friends against each other?

"Do you like books?"

"Huh?" I opened my eyes, and looked up at Sumia. The girl was looking at me hopefully, "I er, yeah I guess I do."

"Good." She grabbed by my arms and yanked me to my feet with surprising strength, "Flavia showed me to the library yesterday when I asked. I'm taking you there right now."

"But-"

"Not buts." Sumia continued to drag me along. I sighed and let her do it, figuring resistance was futile. Must've been a weird sight to see. A petite pegasus knight dragging a much larger man dressed in mage garb.

It didn't take too long for us to reach the library. Or did it? I was so spaced out in my own thoughts, that I didn't really pay attention to the passage of time.

"Here." Sumia shoved a book in front of my face. I took it woodenly and stared at the title. It read "Ribald Tales of the Faith War".

"What's this?" my curiosity outweighed my moodiness just slightly. I really enjoyed war history.

Sumia grinned triumphantly, "One of my favorites. It tells the struggles of several kingdoms in different wars. Interestingly enough, they all end up having a common link in the end."

"Huh didn't think you'd like this kind of story."

"What just because I'm a girl?" Sumia puffed her cheeks out.

"More based on your personality." I raised an eyebrow, "You seem really kind and gentle. I'm sorta surprised you're in the Shepherds in the first place."

"..." Sumia fell silent for a moment, "Well to tell the truth there's quite a bit of romance in there, and I DO enjoy books about war on occasion, especially if they're historical."

_'Called the romance part. I remember her loving cheesy ass romance novels in the game and torturing the Avatar with them.'_ I chuckled to myself just imagining that particular support

Sumia humphed and looked away. My laughter grew even louder until it was echoing throughout the library and I was in stitches. I hadn't laughed like that in ages, and I wasn't really sure why I did then. Eventually Sumia turned back to me. Her anger quickly forgotten.

"Well I can't be too mad at you." Sumia smiled softly at me as my laughter died down, "You're laughing now and you look much happier now."

I couldn't help but grin, even with all my problems still fairly present in my head. I just felt... happy for some reason.

"I am aren't I?"

"Yep!" Sumia grinned back brightly.

"...Thanks Sumia."

The girl nodded and then suddenly swept me up into a tight hug. She lingered for a moment, before releasing me and stepping back. Her hands were still on my shoulders. My usual shyness kicked in, and I could feel my face slowly turning red

"You're welcome. Just try not to forget that there's people you can talk to okay? I'll try to be there for you, and I know Robin probably feels the same way. You two've become remarkably close in such a short time."

"Uh-huh." I said in a sort of a daze

"Are you okay?" Sumia asked worriedly and put her hand on my forehead.

"YEP!" I stepped back from her cool hand and stood as rigid as an arrow, "Just peachy~!"

Sumia looked at me weirdly and shrugged

"If you say so. C'mon, let's go back to the Shepherds. Everyone's probably worried about you."

I laughed nervously and followed her out the door. Inside my mind I was letting out furious profanities involving my general awkwardness when interacting with the opposite sex.

* * *

I've been writing behemoth chapter lately. Guess it sorta makes up for the length of update time. Oh and hopefully I got to all the reviews personally. If not... thanks! If I forgot a review or two it's probably because I forgot to answer ones that didn't have specific questions/comments.


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